Even funnier is the Capriati comparison. Capriati was 160 lbs. That girl will be lucky to reach 100-105 lbs. But since Macci has had 4 students the general public ever heard of, Roddick, Venus, Serena, and Capriati.....he went with the one people had heard of who has the same general hair color and complexion as this girl!

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Yeah, that's interesting, he will either have the next Williams if they are African American, Roddick if big hard serving boy, Capriati if cute hard hitting brunette, if he had a few more he would have all categories covered.

Any way you slice it, it's hype to make a buck. That all this is. If he truly has a one in a million talent, great - nurture it, develop it, keep a low profile to keep her and her parents grounded and take over the tennis world when she's a teen. Hype is the worst thing that can be done to a kid and their family this young.

This girl is definitelt a junior star already, ive seen her play twice. If she keeps going same this way, Rick might be just right. 2 many nay sayers in these blogs...Go Gabby!

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Don't disagree that skills or talent may be there, I'm just saying that many of these high-profile coaches exploit kids at young ages to make money. IMHO, that's wrong, not healthy for the kid and the family.

Don't disagree that skills or talent may be there, I'm just saying that many of these high-profile coaches exploit kids at young ages to make money. IMHO, that's wrong, not healthy for the kid and the family.

I've lost faith in the words that he, the Mac bros, and any other academy owner or premiere coach have to say about up and coming talent. Especially after the Donald Young fiasco.
Like Arche3 said,you can't tell at such an early age. Tell us when they're playing 12's or 14's then you might be on to something, but at 8 or 9, the body hasn't started really growing and everything will change with puberty.

If he is really talking about 4 and 6 year olds, even 9, ya that is overaggressive, but part of the tennis scene for sure. It sucks those parents in and as Chalk said, the wallets fly open. On the other hand, our player was the poster child for an academy from 12 on, and that was actually very helpful to us. First, we weren't paying for training from then on, and it also put him on the map with the section and USTA. You can be #1 in a section but if you don't play the game, you can be overlooked for opportunities. So we let the academy play the game since we didn't necessarily like the suck up required to be "a chosen one." That resulted in better hits and being "sought after" not just for their events and Carson/Boca visits/training, but for hits with better players here and elsewhere. So we got what we needed from them and they got what they needed from having him as a player, which was more players. In our case, it was a fair trade. But there is certainly blatant overselling going on out there, I see it all the time and feel terrible for those parents tossing their money into the wind.

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Thanks for posting this. Obviously, a lot of these kids and their families are in similar quid quo pro deals.

Can't just blame Rick. Sure he has to make a living and profit. Don't really know him but still think he is a great coach, great motivator for young players.

Having said that, I don't think he would hype every child coming to his academy. I heard of him and Nick B. criticizing young players they will never make it if not correcting A, B , or C (overhitting aimlessly, bad footwork, etc).

However, to hype a specific child that young......is it fair to the kid and family???
If parents have to pay $$$ instead of free lessons, they should carefully read all "fine prints" that come with the hype. "Great athlete, fighter..... beyond their years, chances at the pro tour, the top, and so on IF NO INJURY, NO BURNOUT, PARENTS DIVORCED, BANKRUPTCY.....you name it.

The "B" and "C" kids fees, besides covering the coaches salary and other costs for the academy, fund the "A" kids training and travel.

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That is exactly right.

When it comes to any academy, if you are paying full price then your player is not that good. Regardless of age. Anybody who believes any different is just naive. Top players are an asset to a club and every club owner knows this.

I think, marketing became more important than skills for some coaches. I see how many "tennis academies" were launches in last two years by coaches who do not have any special education or certification. It is absurd. You cannot drive a car without a driver license, or work as a hairdresser without a certification, etc.

But you can be a tennis coach and teach kids without any education and any quality control of your job. Just keep talking to parents that their kids are future champions, feed balls, and you are fine.

Sure, but not on the backs of little kids. Talking about your star kids to prospective parents is one thing, but when you can get majot media coverage, it becomes something different.

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That might be your opinion, but it clearly isn't the way his business model works. What you view as a negative is one of his main selling points to parents. It is why he is one of the most successful coaches in the world. That being said, I am neither for or against this approach.

Rick Macci has a proven track record of marketing and public relations capabilities worldwide with all of the major print and TV organizations. Rick can position players like no other coach. Companies trust and believe in Rick and his students. It has been proven over and over again, Macci can maximize a player's potential both on and off the court. You have Rick's personal commitment to help each and every player get a school placement that is right for them!

That might be your opinion, but it clearly isn't the way his business model works. What you view as a negative is one of his main selling points to parents. It is why he is one of the most successful coaches in the world. That being said, I am neither for or against this approach.

Rick Macci has a proven track record of marketing and public relations capabilities worldwide with all of the major print and TV organizations. Rick can position players like no other coach. Companies trust and believe in Rick and his students. It has been proven over and over again, Macci can maximize a player's potential both on and off the court. You have Rick's personal commitment to help each and every player get a school placement that is right for them!

I know it's how it works, and yes it's my opinion that it's wrong to hype really young kids in order to charge ridiculously high fees regardless of who you are or who you've coached (and even if it was a long time ago). Too much pressure on a young kid and possibly on the family. Just because a guy like Macci can make outrageous claims about a 4, 6 or 9 year old being the next future pro star to bilk their family out of $300-$400 per hour doesn't make it right. But that's just my opinion.

I know it's how it works, and yes it's my opinion that it's wrong to hype really young kids in order to charge ridiculously high fees regardless of who you are or who you've coached (and even if it was a long time ago). Too much pressure on a young kid and possibly on the family. Just because a guy like Macci can make outrageous claims about a 4, 6 or 9 year old being the next future pro star to bilk their family out of $300-$400 per hour doesn't make it right. But that's just my opinion.

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By a coach building up some kid, it puts pressure (guilt) on some parents not to deprive their child of being the next one......
And yes, the per hour rate is just downright greedy.

I think, marketing became more important than skills for some coaches. I see how many "tennis academies" were launches in last two years by coaches who do not have any special education or certification. It is absurd. You cannot drive a car without a driver license, or work as a hairdresser without a certification, etc.

But you can be a tennis coach and teach kids without any education and any quality control of your job. Just keep talking to parents that their kids are future champions, feed balls, and you are fine.

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Want to know something really scary? Fitness trainers are not required to have a certification or license in order to train people. A snake oil salesman could legally train and prescribe a cardio program to your uncle who has just had his 3rd heart attack. Who you let train your kids is up to you! Do your research first.

Want to know something really scary? Fitness trainers are not required to have a certification or license in order to train people. A snake oil salesman could legally train and prescribe a cardio program to your uncle who has just had his 3rd heart attack. Who you let train your kids is up to you! Do your research first.

Want to know something really scary? Fitness trainers are not required to have a certification or license in order to train people. A snake oil salesman could legally train and prescribe a cardio program to your uncle who has just had his 3rd heart attack. Who you let train your kids is up to you! Do your research first.

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Actually the scariest thing is the sheer number of certifications out there, some of which require very little actual knowledge of physiological systems.

guy must be thee single worst coach on the planet to have all these world class players pass by him yet have only helped produce 4 truely world class players, with how often hes making these claims he should have one every 2 years